Gaines to BYU

Brandon Gurney

08/01/2009

BYU secured a verbal commitment from Grayson High School's Kori Gaines Saturday morning. Georgia usually isn't the most fertile ground for BYU recruiting, but due to some former player connections Gaines has been well educated about BYU. After receiving his education on the Cougars, which culminated in an unofficial trip to the campus, Gaines decided that BYU was the best place for him.

"I love BYU and after visiting other schools and comparing them it became clear to me that BYU was the best choice for me," said Kori Gaines. "I'm so excited right now that I can hardly talk. It's such a great opportunity for me and I couldn't be more happy about my decision."

Gaines is a 5-foot-9-inch, 175-pound defensive back prospect from Grayson High School in faraway Georgia. He was first introduced to BYU by one of his high school's assistant coaches, former Cougar Lenny Gomes. According to Gaines, Gomes laid it out to him and let him know everything about the school and football program.

"He put it all in a nutshell," related Gaines about Gomes' education course on BYU. "He told me not only all the good things, but also some of the things that I might not like about BYU. He was very honest about the school and I really appreciated that. He told me of all the benefits very clearly to me as well as some of the stuff I might struggle with while I was there. It was a real honest evaluation and it really helped me a lot in my decision."

When first approached by Gomes about BYU, Gaines didn't consider committing to the program much of a possibility. However, as time went on he grew more and more fond of BYU.

"It was while I was on my trip that things really became clear to me," explained Gaines. "I remember Coach Mendenhall going to his board which had BYU's five goals and their priorities of the program, and I was like, ‘Wow, those are exactly the same goals that I would have for myself and what I'd expect in a program.' It was right then that I really began to think that I could end up here."

Gaines was obviously impressed during his unofficial visit, but wasn't quite sure he wanted to commit to the Cougars until comparing them to other programs. Gaines started this process following his unofficial trip to BYU and learned everything he needed to in order to make comparisons.

"Other schools don't have what BYU has to offer," gleaned Gaines from his visits to such schools as Wake Forest, Auburn and Vanderbilt. "I could have waited and maybe those schools would have offered me, but it wouldn't matter in my mind. They can't offer me the things BYU can, and so that's it in my mind. I decided that I had no need to wait and committed to BYU earlier this morning."

Gaines will be looked at to play safety, although he may end up playing cornerback. Given his size, Gaines thought he may be overlooked during the recruiting process despite his dominating defensive play at Grayson High School.

"To me today is a day to prove all my doubters wrong," he expressed. "It's a very humbling thing for me to be offered and now to have an opportunity to play for a program like BYU. I sometimes thought I'd never have a chance to play for such a great program, but now that it's done and that I've committed it's just a very humbling thing for me as a person. I've worked very hard and it's a great thing that such a quality program like BYU recognized my hard work and believes in me. Today is a great day and a day I'll always remember."